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Kurt Busch to drive for Furniture Row in 2013

Kurt Busch has agreed to drive the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series in 2013, replacing Regan Smith, the 2004 Cup Series champion confirmed Monday during an appearance on SPEED's Race Hub.

Busch signed a one-year deal with the Denver, Colo.-based organization owned by Barney Visser, co-founder of the furniture company that also serves as the No. 78's primary sponsor.

"Furniture Row Racing has the commitment, talent and resources to compete at a high level in the Sprint Cup Series," Busch said. "I have watched with admiration on how this team has grown over the years, and that is why I am excited about the opportunity as I eagerly look forward to a new chapter in my racing career."

Busch has spent the 2012 Cup campaign driving for Phoenix Racing, with a best result of third coming in the road-course race in June at Sonoma. He also has posted two victories in the Nationwide Series this year, one for Phoenix in the July race at Daytona and one for his brother Kyle in April at Richmond.

Kurt Busch has 24 Cup victories and a 10-year streak of at least one victory per year on the line with eight races left in the current season. He has top-10 finishes in 171 of his 427 career starts.

The move marks the second step in a comeback for Busch, who parted with Penske Racing at the end of the 2011 season after several incidents -- including an angry confrontation with an ESPN camera crew at the season finale at Homestead -- made his position there untenable.

Smith claimed his lone victory in 159 Cup starts last year at Darlington. To date, that is the only victory in 191 starts for Furniture Row Racing, which made its Cup debut in 2005.

"Though we have made strides as a resourceful single-car Sprint Cup team, we are not where we want to be, which led us to the difficult decision of making a driver change as we move forward," said Joe Garone, Furniture Row's general manager . "Kurt's exceptional driving talent has the capacity to take a team to another level. We look forward to having Kurt join our Denver-based organization and feel his racing experience will play an important role as we plan ahead to 2013."

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